SpongeBob's Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke on memes, memories, and 20 years in Bikini Bottom

As of this this past May, SpongeBob SquarePants has been enriching the lives of kids—and adults!—with nautical nonsense for over twenty years. Over the summer, Nickelodeon aired the series’ Big Birthday Blowout to impressive numbers and shortly thereafter announced its 13th season. With a third theatrical film slated for 2020 and a steady stream of memes invading Twitter, everything’s coming up SpongeBob! To keep the celebration going, Nickelodeon recently brought “The Bikini Bottom Experience” to Los Angeles where guests were welcomed into pop-up versions of the show’s iconic locations, like The Krusty Krab and Sandy’s Treedome. It was there that we were given a special opportunity to sit down with actors Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke (the voices of SpongeBob and Patrick, respectively) to reflect on the landmark cartoon’s colorful legacy. With SpongeBob’s signature pineapple abode behind them, Kenny and Fagerbakke shared their favorite memories from season one and talked about the millennial fans who grew up with the show. They also mentioned all of the surreal ways pop culture has reflected SpongeBob Squarepants back to them, whether through weird, knockoff piñatas or though existential internet jokes.